Glengarriff Gaa Club would like to thank everyone who took time out of there busy schedules to attend our 34th AGM last night.

We would like to express our thanks and gratitude to the outgoing committee members who put a lot of hard work in over the past 12 months and also welcome the newly elected officers and executive committee members.

The Southern Star previewed this 1st round clash
in the Sports Section of Thursday’s newspaper, as follows; “The battle of the outsiders will provide one side with a welcome win,
barring a draw, but that’s as far as they can expect to go. Plunkett’s are
great battler’s and might just shade this one.”

In truth, I don't think anyone outside of this group of
young men, would have argued with that before throw-in this afternoon; oh boy,
how wrong we were!

On a cool, blustery afternoon in Drimoleague, it would be
the Glengarriff men that would ease into the Carbery U21 Quarter Final Draw, with St. Oliver Plunkett’s pondering their next move and a second chance in the
losers round next weekend after a full time score of 6-16 to 3-04.

The match threw-in just after 1pm on a heavy pitch with the
wind assisting the Glen in the opening half. The Beara side made the better of a
nervy first five minutes, but couldn't convert some good position in front of
the posts and were punished when the Saints countered and rebounded the ball to
the net, after a good first save from Daniel Murphy it fell to the on rushing wing
forward. The Glen immediately responded with points from, Jack Hurley & Connor
Galvin to settle the early nerves. Plunkett’s notched their first point, before
Man of the Match; Seán McCarthy collected his first of eleven scores (9 from play)
of the afternoon with 10 minutes played, but it was Ciarán McElhinney that started
and ended a 5 minute spell of dominance with a goal on 11 minutes followed by a
point from Gearoid O’Sullivan and two more from Seán Mc before he netted again
in the 16th minute. Plunkett’s pulled back two points to leave 6
points between the sides with 20 minutes played. This would be as close as they
would get and to be honest the game was over as a contest at half time after a
closing 5 minutes saw McCarthy point three more from play and a free, with
Ciarán popping up with another himself, to leave the score line reading 2-11 to
1-03 at the break. To be honest it could and should have been more, only for
some fine brave goalkeeping from the Saint’s number 1 and the crossbar, which
saw Eoghan McElhinney’s fine effort crash back into play nearing the end of the
half.

The second half started with Plunkett’s on the attack and
they were rewarded after a mix-up in the Glen defence left an easy finish to
the net in the second minute. Ciarán responded with two fine points in the 35th
& 37th minutes to settle his side into the second period, before
his younger brother, Eoghan, finally got his just rewards for some great play
during the game and buried the ball to the net from 20 yards out. Minutes later,
McCarthy had his first goal of the afternoon. The Saint’s pulled a goal back
from the penalty spot in the 47th minute, but it was Seán McCarthy
that put this game to bed with two more points from play & his second goal
in the 51st minute to bring his personal tally to 2-07 from play and
2 pointed frees. The bench was emptied at this stage and immediately Connor Lancaster
pointed from play before Diarmuid O’Shea concluded the scoring for the Glen
with a Goal in the 53rd minute. The last point went to the battling St.
Oliver Plunkett’s before the referee called an end to a very satisfactory
performance for the men in Green & Red. The final score read 6-16 (34pts)
to 3-04 (13pts).

While everyone gave a great account of themselves on the
field, some of the stand out performances were;

·Cillian Collins, at corner back, who marked
their best forward and on many occasions turned position over in the tackle
which lead to our forwards converting at the other end. Cillian is fast
becoming one of our most consistent and valuble defenders.

·Fergal O’Sullivan, in the other corner back
spot, who hasn’t played a game of football in nearly two years, swept up a lot of
loose passes and gave simple ball out of defence.

·Paidi O’Sullivan, at wing back, did everything
simple and distributed some excellent passes into the forwards, he never looked
under pressure.

·Daniel Hartigan, at centre forward, played as a second
midfielder for most of the contest, he used his physical strength to win the ‘dirty’
ball in the key areas and covered a lot of ground on a heavy pitch.

·Man of the Match, Seán McCarthy, at wing
forward. For an overall performance, he will do well to match today’s for a
long time to come. The key moment for me was about 10minutes into the first half
when he raced out to the sideline to track someone else’s man and managed to
stop the attackers run and tackle the ball away from him, collect possession and
run at the opposition. It was this play that lead to Ciarán McElhinney’s Goal
which swung the game in our favour. He’s work rate, decision making, distribution
and of course the score taking were all near perfect today.

This was far from a brilliant performance, but it was one of
the best team performances by a Glengarriff team that I have witnessed in a
long time. There will be bigger tests to come this year, but a win in a
Championship game is always something to be savoured, even if “that’s
as far as they can expect to go”!

Glengarriff GAA Club Will Confirm Your Order & Seek Payment From You Prior to the Club Placing the Bulk Order With the Sportswear Manufacturers, The Club Will NOT Be Held Responsible For Any Incorrect Orders After We Confirm Your Order!

The Provincial Championship draws are complete and the League fixtures are being finalised. Dublin and Clare are our Champions. Who will reign in 2014?

The GAA Season Ticket can be purchased at a base price of €85 for adults, juveniles are €10.

Loyalty rewarded - qualify for All-Ireland Final tickets. Click here for more information.

Great value - great price plus more discounts throughout the Championship.

Convenience - you have your ticket for your team.

Exclusive Extras - ‘bring a friend’ options, special purchase options for other matches

What’s included?

- All your County's Allianz League round matches plus all League semi finals, play-offs and finals in that code- Your County's opening Championship fixture- All Allianz League round matches in your selected code. So if you have a Longford Football Season Ticket you can go to any Allianz League Football match.*- AIB GAA Club All-Ireland Finals in Croke Park on St. Patrick's Day.*

You will also enjoy discount prices during the Championship - Pay & Play kicks in after your opening Championship fixture.

Last weekends, Carbery U21C Football Championship game vs. Dohenys, which was postponed due to the bad weather, has been re-fixed for this coming Bank Holiday Monday, 1st April at 4pm again at St. Colum's GAA Grounds in Kealkil.

Please come and continue the great support for the lads in this must win game!!

Please Note, It is Cork County Board and Cork Coiste na nÓg Policy that no Games or Training Sessions take place on a Good Friday. All our Club Mentors & Players are asked to abide by this Rule & are not to organise or take part in any Game's or Training's on Good Friday.

Upcoming Events;(i) On this Saturday, James McCarthy will host a one-day Foundation Level coaching course at Kilmacabea GAA Grounds in Leap, starting at 10am and running until mid-afternoon. Fee €10. Contact James at 087-7799531 to register.

(ii) On Monday, April 8th, the launch of the Monster U8 & U10 blitz programme for 2013 will take place at Ahamilla. The night will mainly incorporate a practical coaching workshop for all mentors working at these age levels in football and hurling. Each club is asked to send the coaching officer and a mentor from each of the four teams involved.Areas covered will include the following:

Tackling.... eg getting in close for hurling eg tackling the ball, not the man for football

The Grip.... hurling only

Left and Right.... the importance of using both sides and showing techniques to 'force' (reward) players to use both (eg sock-up / sock-down).

The dates and venues for the Monster blitz programme, which is included in the Rebel Óg master fixture plan will also be outlined. There will be 2-3 West Cork venues on each date outlined, with seven venues hosting Monster blitzes across the county on the same day. Dates as follows:

Monster U10 Blitzes*one Monster Blitz on the third Saturday of every month for six monthssix blitzes in total*All teams would also play U10 mini leagues organized by their regional board as before.

Saturday, April 20th - football

Saturday May 18th - hurling

Saturday, June 15th - football

Saturday, July 20th - hurling

Saturday, August 17th - football

Saturday, September 21st - hurling

Monster U8 Blitzestwo Monster Blitzes per month for four monthson the second (football) & fourth (hurling) Saturday of every montheight blitzes in total

Saturday, May 11th - football

Saturday, May 25th - hurling

Saturday, June 8th - football

Saturday, June 22nd - hurling

Saturday, July 13th - football

Saturday, July 27th - hurling

Saturday, August 10th - football

Saturday, August 24th - hurling

(iii) Cork GAA Academies designated Saturday on March 30th and camp week on April 1st - 5th, as per master fixture plan.

Carbery-Beara U14 football / hurling;Following a number of sessions over recent months, the Carbery Beara U14 footballers will soon form a panel of 42 players approx in preparation for the inter-divisional blitz at Easter. Preparation continues during Easter week. Details to follow. Meanwhile, their hurlers counterparts will also assemble that week, in advance of joining a Carbery / Muskerry / Carrigdhoun selection for the inter-divisional blitz.

Primary Schools Coaching / Blitzes;

Both coaching and blitzes continue to run in schools across the divisions, with James McCarthy (087-7799531) and Noel Crowley (086-8375061) covering west and east, respectively. Feel free to contact either if you wish to attend blitzes or require schools coaching. Of course, schools coaching is dependent on the support of the local club, so it is not possible to send in coaches unless there is full backing locally.

Club-School Link Day - April 16th;

On Tuesday, April 16th we are seeking clubs across the county who are willing to host and organise a schools blitz in their grounds for the schools in their catchment area. This event, which would incorporate all pupils, would help to strengthen links between schools and clubs, to the benefit of all. Of course, a number of these blitzes are already taking place locally, but if you would like to organise one for your own club, you can let us know.

Post Primary School Blitz at Rossa Park;

Last Thursday saw first year teams from Rosssa College, Hamilton High School, Schull Community College and St. Brogan's participate in a first year blitz at Rossa Park, Skibbereen. Overall winners on the day were Hamilton High School, with all teams playing three games each. Thanks to O'Donovan Rossa for their grounds on the day and indeed to the schools for attending. Pictures and reports from the event will soon follow in the Southern Star.

Post Primary Internal Second Year Blitzes;

T-shirts are about to become available from the Munster Council for schools who are willing to host internal blitzes for pupils in second year, with the emphasis on participation in sporting activities in schools. Again, let us know if your school is interested.

Post Primary Schools Coaching at Skibereen;

Paudie Crowley from O'Donovan Rossa GAA Club is currently completing a five-week coaching programme with First year students in Rossa College and St. Fachtna's as part of his degree in Sport and Exercise in Carlow IT. The programme has been a huge success so far, with Paudie also coaching in Abbeystrewery NS on a regular basis. Meanwhile David O'Mahony of St. Colum's is working across a range of areas under James McCarthy in both schools and clubs as part of his final steps towards his degree from Tralee IT. From coaching in schools across west Carbery to acting as club liaison officer in Colaiste Pobail Bheanntrai, hie has been a huge asset to the games development team.

Munster U10 Blitzes;Carbery and Beara are paired with East Kerry for the football U10 blitzes, to be run on April 6th or 13th, with return dates on July 6th or 13th. We are therefore seeking clubs to both travel and host clubs from Kerry. A home and away arrangement would be set up whereby clubs who tavelled on one date, would host on the second occasion. Let us know if interested.

Club Nursery Recruitment Grant Aid Scheme;Coiste Oiliúna Chorcaí are pleased to announce details of a new scheme for clubs to assist them in the recruitment of nursery players. This programme has already been piloted successfully in Cork and we re now encouraging all clubs to engage with this project in the next 2 months when recruiting players.Elements of the programme in currently in place in Castlehaven ('Little Haven'), Kilmeen ('Kilmeen Kubs') and St. Coulm's ('Cage Crew') GAA Clubs.

What Do Clubs Have To Do?Clubs are asked to meet with their local Primary School Principal(s) and invite them to bring their infants classes to the local GAA Club outside of school hours (eg Saturday morning from 10am to 11am).The club would then undertake a coaching programme for all children based on the ABC Have A Ball Programme from the Fun Do Coaching Manual over 6-8 weeks.The club would be responsible for providing the coaches.The club must encourage a minimum of 1 parent per child to attend every session.

What Do Schools Have To Do?Teachers would be invited to attend the sessions along with the pupils from the school. The teachers would also be expected to promote the event each week in school as an add on to their health promotion initiatives. In the pilot programme, at least one staff member from the school was present each week.

What Grant Aid is available?The importance of linking the local GAA club to the children in the parish cannot be over emphasized. Coiste Oiliúna Chorcaí would like to ensure each child would receive a t shirt or jersey branded with the local club name to help create this sense of belonging and togetherness. Therefore, clubs will be selected based on their commitment to the scheme and their future plans for their nursery structures. Clubs who are rewarded will be grant aided up to a maximum of €200. The club will have to put this funding towards the cost of club branded gear for players or towards nursery programme equipment.

How can a club avail of the Grant Aid?To apply for grant aid, clubs need to notify their local GDA of their intention to participate in the project and when they intend to implement the coaching programme.The GDA will attend sessions in order to sign off on the implementation of the programme.Once the club has completed the project, then they will be asked to make a submission on how they intend to develop the smooth transition of the school pupils in to club players and parents in to club coaches.A limited number of clubs will be selected for grant aid based on their commitment to the 6-8 sessions and on their future schedule to ensure long term participation.

We are delighted to announce that our second Issue of the Club's Monthly Newsletter has been uploaded to our Website.

This Newsletter is issued monthly by Club PRO, John Galvin {pro.glengarriffe.cork@gaa.ie} via email and is also available to download from our Newsletter Page at the link below.

If you would like to receive this Newsletter directly to your inbox each month, then please send an email to the above address including; "Subscribe to News" in the Subject Line or Click Here - Subscribe To Newsletter ans fill in the simple form!

Any comments, suggestions or queries are also welcome to the above address in order to help improve this publication over the coming months!